My friend I hunted AK for black bear last year came out to hunt pronghorn on a landowner voucher I gave him this past weekend. Our hunt started last Saturday, and we saw several pronghorn and quite a few nice bucks, but he found one that he really wanted. So we tried to put a stalk on this buck and got busted and lost him, the next day we tried again and it was a dismal failure as there wasn’t really any cover to sneak up within comfortable shooting range of his .30-30AI G2 Contender Pistol. So we knew roughly where he would be everyday because he was hanging out with his herd on one of my Father’s wheat fields and bedding in his pasture.
The next morning we snuck in before daylight to set up our ambush, well daylight came and the pronghorn were not where we had planned on them to be. So we formulated another plan for me to try and get them to move toward my friends shooting position. So I walked the half mile back to where we had parked the truck and then drove to the other end of the section and got out and started to bump the pronghorn having to back off and come at them from several different directions to get them to move within shooting range of my friend.
Finally after several bumps the buck crossed a fence about 250 yards from my friends ambush position and he got a shot off. He dropped the buck, but it wasn’t ready to die yet as he got back up and crossed into a neighbor’s pasture where we didn’t have permission to hunt. A quick phone call to the neighbor and the chase was back on, we got back on him and the second shot finished him off. After we got the buck back to the farm house and dressed out, our unofficial score on him was in the mid to high 70’s with him being over 14" on the horns. I didn't promise my friend when he came out from NY a record book buck but a good representation, and my friend was one happy hunter.
Here are a few mule deer does we spotted shortly after we got the buck down and headed back to the farm to take care of him. Sorry for the close up the best my camera could do with a 3X zoom.
I got my doe the very next day nothing too exciting about the hunt. I was able to get within 217 yards by using a dry creek bed to sneak up in. I shot the first doe that presented a clear target and took out both lungs. I used a Springfield 1903 in .338-06 with 200 grain Horndady SP bullets. More gun than was needed but I had this rifle since 04 and haven't taken a big game animal with it and decided to use it since I didn't draw an elk tag this year.
My friend invited me out to Western NY to hunt white tail deer in Nov, so I don't think I'll even bother to get a OTC elk tag. I think I could pass up a elk hunt this year to have the chance to hunt some white tails in NY.